Soul Searching
by SamGirl27
Summary: This story takes place just after Season 10, Episode 3. Dean is no longer a Demon, but the story is really about Sam, as he meets up with a woman from his past, a woman he knew during his time without a soul. What she has to tell them will shock them, and send them off on a quest to find out where souls come from in the first place, in order to save a precious little girl.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

She was sitting in her usual seat in the corner of the diner when the door opened and two men walked in. Her heart stopped when she recognized one of them. It had been four years since she had seen him, but she couldn't possibly be mistaken. No one else could look like him, so tall, with that beautiful flowing hair and those eyes that could melt your heart. She watched as they took a booth on the other side of the diner. She wondered if the man with him was his brother, the one he said he wasn't in touch with any more.

Every day she hoped and prayed for the chance to see him again, and every day she told herself that would be a huge mistake. But here he was, and now she had to see him, no matter the consequences. The stakes were too high.

She lingered over her coffee, pretending to read a book until they finished their meal and left. It was dark by this time, and she followed them on foot as they walked two blocks farther downtown. They stopped and leaned against the wall of a building as if they were waiting for someone.

She crossed the street and continued watching them, hidden behind a car. They kept looking around, on edge, obviously waiting for someone to show up, or something to happen. When it did it startled her so much she almost cried out. Another figure joined them, just appearing as if out of thin air. Sam and his brother appeared to be arguing with the newcomer, and then suddenly, Sam took out something that looked like a dagger and stabbed the man. And that wasn't even the most astonishing part. When the man got stabbed, flashes of light seemed to come out of him. When he fell to the ground, Sam and his companion just turned casually and walked away.

She was very frightened now. What she had just seen was making her have second and third thoughts about seeing Sam. But desperation managed to override her own fear for herself, and she continued to follow them. They walked to the motel behind the diner where she had first seen them, and went into a room. It took her a long time to actually get up enough courage to knock on their door, but she finally did it.

"Well that was a bust," said Dean in irritation. "Goddamn demons, you just can't trust any of them."

This remark made Sam send a significant look towards his brother, but he managed not to say anything. What he did say was, "Do you think maybe he was actually sent by Crowley?"

"Hard to say but I don't think so. I think he was out for himself. But I couldn't take the chance on him running back to Crowley when we wouldn't meet his demands. I'd rather not have Crowley know what we're looking for."

Their conversation was interrupted by a soft knock on the door. They looked at each other and Sam picked up the gun that had been lying on the table, and cocked it. He opened the door just a few inches to see a fairly attractive woman standing there.

"Yes?" he inquired.

"Sam?"

"Who wants to know?"

"Sam, we met a few years ago. I'd like to talk to you if I may. It's very important," she said.

Sam looked back over his shoulder to Dean, who shrugged back at him, so he opened the door to allow her to enter. Her eyes immediately went to the gun, and he put it into his belt. "I'm sorry, I don't remember you," he said.

She gave little chuckle and said, "Well, I think I looked a hell of a lot better back then."

Sam took a closer look and slowly began to see her as she might have been in better days. She'd been really pretty then, with bouncy blond hair and laughing blue eyes. Now her hair looked drab, and her eyes held little expression. "Sam held up a finger and wagged it at her. "Molly, right? No wait, not Molly... Polly!"

She smiled wanly and said, "Yes, it's Polly."

"Right, well come on over here and have a seat. This is my brother, Dean," he told her, as he indicated the only other chair at the table. He sat on the edge of the bed and said politely, "So what can I do for you, Polly?"

She looked extremely nervous and she was wringing her hands in her lap. This was not the vibrant, fun-loving Polly he remembered. "Is something wrong? You can tell us."

"Look," she started, licking her lips, indicating her nervousness even more. "I wouldn't have come here except I have to ask you something. I have to know something. It's important."

"Go on," he said gently.

She was looking at him more closely now, trying to reconcile the caring and gentle tone of his voice with the man who had killed someone in cold blood not an hour before.

"You look frightened. There's no need to be. We aren't going to hurt you," Sam said smiling.

"I'm not so sure of that," she said, smiling tightly. Dean looked at Sam with a question in his eyes and Sam shook his head almost imperceptibly. Polly took a deep sigh, and said, "I just need to get it out there and let whatever is going to happen, happen." She looked straight at Sam then and mustering all the courage she had inside her said, "You need to know I'm not looking for anything, okay? I'm not laying any claim on you and I'm not asking for money. We just had a weekend fling. I just need to ask if you might possibly know what's wrong with our daughter."

Sam looked like he'd just had the wind knocked out of him. Dean looked at Sam and said, "Sammy you sly dog!"

"Shut up Dean," he said without expression. He looked at Polly as though he didn't understand the language she was speaking. "Our… We have a… are you sure?"

She grabbed her purse off the chair where she had hung it and opened it up. She pulled out a picture and laid it on the table. "That's Samantha June, named after you and my mother. I know she's yours. I wasn't with anyone for months before you, and I've been with no one else since. But if you need me too, I'm happy to have a DNA test done."

Sam picked up the picture and stared at it. There was no question in his mind that this was his child. She looked just like him. But something was wrong. She was a cute little girl, but she wasn't smiling. She almost looked cold, like there was no one there. Sam shook off this fanciful line of thought and handed the picture to his brother.

"You said something's wrong with her?" Polly nodded. "What? What's wrong with her?"

"She's institutionalized," she responded. "Has been for over a year, when I just couldn't handle her anymore. She has behavior problems and no one knows why. She's totally uncontrollable. She hurts people, especially other children. She has to be kept isolated. She won't eat unless she wants to. She won't do anything unless she wants to. And she totally refuses to sleep. They have to sedate her heavily to get her to sleep at all. She's very intelligent, and fortunately she likes to learn. But only on her own terms."

Hearing this Sam and Dean looked at each other in horror. Sam looked away and swallowed. "What makes you think I might have the answer?" he asked her.

"I don't know that you do. But when I saw you in the diner I knew I had to at least try to ask you. The doctors have exhausted all the avenues they could think of. They can't even really diagnose her, because she doesn't fit any of the known mental illnesses enough for a single diagnosis. They've tried sedating her, but that just slows her down. It doesn't change her attitude. The doctors say it's like all she has in an id, if you understand Freudian theory."

"Sam, I love my daughter. I want her with me. If you have any inkling of an idea that might help, please tell me."

Dean cleared his throat. "Sorry to interrupt, but can we back up a moment? You said you saw us in the Diner?" Polly nodded. "And what? You knew we were staying here?"

Polly swallowed, realizing she had given herself away. "Look, I don't care what you've done. I don't care who you are or what you do. I just want to know if you can help Samantha."

Again the boys looked at each other. "You," Sam cleared his throat. "You followed us from the diner?" She nodded, lowering her eyes. Sam blew out a breath that fluffed his cheeks out.

"I'm not going to tell anyone, really, I promise."

"Polly, it's okay." Sam said soothingly. "We aren't going to hurt you. What you saw, well, it's not what you think."

"How can it not be what I think?" She asked incredulously.

"Oh god," Sam said, shaking his head. "Polly, can I ask you to try to trust me on that, and let's just deal with the problem at hand?"

She looked at him then, with a long puzzled look. "You seem different," she said. "Kinder, more caring." Sam got up and rubbed the back of his neck, pacing the floor, while Polly followed him with her eyes.

"So, do you know anything that can help?" she asked.

He went over and sat back down on the edge of the bed, and took her hands in his. "I don't honestly know. I don't want to get your hopes up unnecessarily. What I'm thinking is a long shot. A very long shot. I'm going to need some time to get ahold of a friend, one who may be able to help." She inhaled her breath in a display of hope. "Don't," he said. "There may be nothing we can do. But I promise you, I will do everything I possibly can."

She nodded, tears flowing quietly down her cheeks. "Let me have your address and phone number, and I'll give you mine. We may need a few days, but I promise you I'll be in touch." He reached over and lifted her chin with his hand. "Can I… can I keep the photo?" he asked her, after they exchanged information. Again she nodded, and stood up.

"Thank you," she said to Sam, nodded to Dean and left.

"Sammy, you sure…?" Dean began.

"Look at the photo Dean. How can you even question it? And even without that… I just know. And now there's a beautiful little girl out there who can't live a normal life because of me."

"You don't know that. You don't know that it has anything to do with you."

"I do know it Dean. Somehow, my not having a soul has damaged her. I don't know how. But I know it's true. And if it's the last thing I do, I'm going to fix it."

"So you think because you didn't have a soul at the time, that she was somehow born without one? How does that even make sense?"

"I don't know. I don't know how souls work. But I know that if she doesn't have a soul, then that's on me. And somehow, some way, I'm gonna fix it."

"How Sam? You got an extra soul lying around? Death himself said you can't just break off a piece of a soul, so you can't just give her a piece of yours."

Sam got very quiet for several minutes. "You ever wonder where new souls come from Dean? I never gave it a thought until now."

Dean watched his brother agonize over this new situation. It was a lot to take in all at once. First, finding out you have a child you never knew you had and then finding out there's something wrong with her that might be your own fault. He was hotwired to protect his brother from everything. But how could he begin to protect him from the pain of something like this.

"We need Cas," Sammy said. "If anybody knows how souls work, it's him," he said, as he reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Sam," Cas answered.

"Cas, hey, um, I know you're knee deep in your own problems, but if you could spare me a few, I really could use your help."

"Where are you?" Cas asked, and when Sam told him, Cas appeared in the room. "I'm hanging up now," he said, closing his phone and putting it away. He looked at the grave faces of both Winchester's and frowned. "What is it?" he asked.

"Cas, I have a question," said Sam. "How do new born babies acquire a soul? Where do they come from?"

Cas looked at Sam perplexed. "That's an odd question," he said.

"Yeah I know, but can you answer it? Sam responded.

"Well we know that children get their physical characteristics from DNA, which is a combination of genes from both the mother and the father."

"Yeah, thanks for the biology lesson Cas," Dean said, sarcastically. "But what does that have to do with souls?"

"Souls work the same way, Dean. They're unique to the individual, and they're created at conception from the combination of soul essence from both parents."

Sam sat down heavily on the bed, thinking furiously. "So what would happen if one of the parents didn't have a soul at the time of conception?"

Now Cas looked worried. He sat down next to Sam and said, "I don't know. As far as I know this situation has never happened." He looked more closely at Sam and the significance of this line of questioning finally hit him, and asked quietly, "Sam, are you asking these questions because this has happened to you?"

Sam sighed and nodded slowly. He took Samantha's photo out of his pocket and handed it to Cas. "This is my daughter," he said. "I just found out."

Cas looked at the photo with interest. "I can definitely see the resemblance," he said. "But why the questions about souls? Is there a question about hers?"

"She doesn't seem to have one," Sam said, and related what Polly had told them about her behavior.

"I see," Cas said sadly. "That does seem to be the case. But I have never heard of a situation like this, and I'm not sure we can fix it."

"We have to try, Cas," said Sam vehemently. "This is my fault! I have to fix it."

"Actually," said Cas sadly, "it's really my fault. I'm the one who brought you back without your soul."

"Then help me fix it, Cas. This is an innocent little girl we're talking about."

"let me go make a few inquiries and see if I can find out anything helpful. I won't be long."

When Cas left, Sam looked at Dean. "You haven't had much to say about this."

"What's to say? I know what you must be feeling. I'm with you on this, bro, whatever it takes."

"Thanks," Sam said appreciatively.

About thirty minutes later, Cas returned, and without preamble, he began to speak. "The procedure is hard to explain, but think of it like this. When a baby is conceived, it has an empty place for the soul. This space calls out to the parents, and each of their souls forms a bud, a tiny seed of a soul, and the two buds fill the empty space and merge together, forming the total soul."

"So what does that mean, Cas? Does she have half a soul, or what?"

"The best guess is that she does have half a soul, but it's yearning, calling out for completion. Without it, the half she has is most likely dormant."

Sam was pacing back and forth, rubbing the back of his neck. "So what then, does that mean I may have the bud she needs on my soul? Could it have formed even while my soul was in the cage?"

"It seems remote, but possible," Cas answered.

"Can you tell? Can you touch my soul and see if it's there?" Sam asked.

Cas said, "I can try. But Sam, you know how painful that is, and personally I don't think I'll find anything."

"I don't care," he said, his level of agitation rising by the moment. He grabbed a towel from the sink and sat in the chair. "Do it," he said, and bit down on the towel as he grabbed ahold of the chair arms.

Cas looked at Dean, shook his head and rolled up his sleeve. "Do it," Sam said again, his words muffled by the towel. Cas pushed his hand into Sam's body and Sam closed his eyes and cried out in muffled pain, squeezing the chair arms as he tried to cope. It lasted only a few seconds, but it seemed like minutes to Sam.

When he pulled out his arm Cas looked sad, and shook his head. "It's not there Sam. I'm sorry."

Sam was breathing hard as his body adjusted to the removal of agony. "So what do we do? Cas, what do we do now?"

Suddenly Cas collapsed into a heap on the floor. "Cas," Dean yelled, as he and Sam both stooped down to help Cas up and onto the bed. Cas appeared weak and his breathing was shallow. "Cas, what's wrong?"

"I'm okay," he said. "That just took a little more out of me than I expected. I'll be fine."

"I'm sorry, Cas. I had no idea doing that would hurt you," Sam said, worry creasing his brow.

"Sam, don't beat yourself up. We needed to find out. One step at a time."

When Cas began looking better Sam said, "Well, then, what's the next step?"

"I'd like to see the girl. Do you think you could arrange that?"

"Probably," Sam said.

"Call me when you have that arranged. Meanwhile I'll go back to my car and drive it here. I can't keep using my angel powers unnecessarily."

When Cas left, Sam took out the photo of his daughter and stared at it for several minutes. Dean watched him with his own heart aching for his little brother. He got up and patted Sam on the shoulder. "It's too late to do any more tonight, Dude," he said. "Let's try to get some sleep."

* * *

><p>By the time Polly knocked on the motel room door it was slightly after ten am and Sam was in emotional turmoil. He was too restless to sit for very long and was spending most of the time pacing around rubbing the back of his neck. When Polly arrived he brought her in and sat her on the end of one of the beds. Dean was sitting in the same chair he had been in the night before.<p>

Dean had asked Sam if he'd like some privacy when he talked to Polly, but Sam asked him to stay. He really needed the moral support. Now it was time to explain everything to Polly, and he was terrified. Funny how he could face fiercely dangerous monsters and keep his fear in check, even use it to his advantage. But what he was about to do now frightened him more than he wanted to admit.

He squatted down in front of her and took her hands. "Polly," he said. "We think we know what's going on with Samantha, but we have no idea if we can do anything about it. In order to even try, though, you have to be made aware of some very serious things, things you might find hard to accept."

She stared at him for a moment and then asked, "Like what?"

"Polly do you trust me.. Us?" he asked her.

She looked from him to Dean and nodded, saying, "I think maybe I shouldn't, but yes, I do."

"Okay, good, that means your instincts are working well, that will help."

Sam stood up and pulled the other chair over from the table and sat down in front of her. "In order for you to understand what's most likely going on with Samantha, you will need to hear my… our… story, or at least a part of it."

"Okay?"

"Last night, when you saw us do something that scared you. Tell me what you saw, all of it, no matter how weird it might seem."

Again she looked from Sam to Dean and back again. "I saw you kill another man," she said.

"Describe it, describe what happened in detail… please, it's important."

"Well," she said with a sigh, "I followed the two of you a few blocks downtown where you stopped and waited for someone. It was quite dark there and no one else was around. I crossed the street so I could get closer, and I hid behind a car. Soon a man came up to you…"

"Okay stop for a minute. Did you see where he came from?"

"No, I didn't. Actually, it just seemed like he appeared out of thin air, but I figured I just must have missed seeing him approach."

"Okay, that's good," Sam said, encouragingly. "Go on."

"You argued with the man for a few minutes and then you just… you just stabbed him," she said, her voice taking on a frightened edge.

Sam took her hands again to calm her and said, "It's okay, I promise. Just tell me what you saw when I stabbed him."

His smile and his calm voice had a soothing effect on her, and she said, "he… he glowed. I mean I didn't think that was right but that's what it looked like."

"You're right, Polly, he did glow. Do you think that's a normal thing for people to do?"

She chuckled humorlessly. "Well, no, not in my experience."

"But he did glow, Polly, he did glow, and he did appear out of nowhere." He looked straight into her eyes as he said this, giving it all the sincerity he could muster up.

"But… but how?" she asked, almost in a whisper.

"Because he wasn't a man, Polly. He wasn't human. He was a demon." Again he watched her eyes to gauge her reaction.

"A… a what?"

"A demon," he said again, matter-of-factly. "Polly, you saw it for yourself. Your eyes weren't playing tricks on you and you weren't imagining things. Demons exist."

He waited for her to catch up, and when she did she asked, "What do demons have to do with my daughter?"

"Thankfully, nothing per se. But it was the place to start since you'd already seen one. But be prepared, Polly, because things will get even harder to believe. You okay?"

She swallowed and nodded. "Go on," she said.

"When I was just sis months old, a demon killed our mother," he began.

She gasped. "How horrible," she cried.

"It was. And it changed the course of our lives. Our dad, who had never even known demons existed, became obsessed with hunting down and killing the demon who took away the love of his life. We were raised in a crazy life of never settling down anywhere, and learning early on how to kill monsters." He looked over at Dean. "That's what we do now, we hunt down and kill monsters."

"Your dad…?"

"Dad was killed by the same demon that killed our mom. Dean was the one who finally killed him."

Again, Sam took a break to allow her to catch up. "Monsters? You said monsters?"

"Yes. Demons aren't the only monsters out there, but there's no reason to burden you with all of it right now. I need to get to the part that affects our child."

By this point Polly was very subdued, just trying to take in everything she was being told to accept, against everything she had ever believed. She nodded for Sam to go on.

"It gets harder now. I wish I didn't have to tell you all this," said Sam.

To be continued….


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Polly watched Sam struggle with whatever it was he had to say. She couldn't imagine anything that could be much worse than finding out demons were real. Finally he spoke, and it was to ask her a question.

"Polly," he said. "Are you a religious person?"

She knitted her brow in puzzlement. The question seemed off the topic. "I go to church," she answered. "Sometimes anyway. And I pray. Ever since I knew something was very wrong with Samantha, I've prayed and prayed for a miracle. Is that what you want to know?"

"Yeah, it's enough. I'm afraid the things I have to tell you are going to turn your belief system inside out and upside down. And I hate doing it, but it's necessary."

"Now you're scaring me," she said. "And I'm still not seeing what all this has to do with my daughter."

"I know you don't. And I don't know how to tell you what I need to tell you, I don't know where to start."

"Just say it," she said. "Just say it, and then we'll work it out."

Sam looked at Dean and shook his head. Dean shrugged. "Okay here's the bottom line." Sam took a deep breath, held Polly's hands in his and said, "When you and I had our fling… at that point in time I didn't have a soul."

Polly looked at him in horror and started breathing heavily. "What?" she exclaimed. "That doesn't even make sense. How can someone not have a soul?"

Sam spoke soothingly and softly again, hoping to calm her. "Polly, a lot of things that you think are impossible aren't. Demons exist. I think you've accepted that. Along with that comes the fact that hell is real. It's a real place. Dean and I have both been there, literally."

Polly pulled her hands away and jumped up, turning her back on him, and began pacing. "That's just nonsense. Boy you really had me going. Are you enjoying playing some sort of head game with me? Demons? Hell? And you've gone there? That's just insane!" She was close to hysteria now, and Sam began softly crying.

"Polly please," he said pleadingly. "I know how this sounds, believe me. But you have to hear it. And you have to believe it. You have to. For Samantha." He paused for a few seconds and then added, "This may just be the miracle you've been praying for, but only if you accept the possibility."

She stopped pacing and stared at Sam. When she realized he was crying, she walked slowly back to the bed and sat back down. "You aren't lying, are you?" she asked softly.

"No," he said, a catch in his voice. "I'm really not. We don't usually tell these things to people, because it's not fair to them. People should be able to live their lives feeling safe. But I have to tell you this, because if there's any chance at all of fixing what's wrong with Samantha, you will need to have a clear understanding of what it is that's wrong, how it happened, and what we might possibly be able to do to fix it." He was looking at her, pleading with his eyes for her to listen, to understand, to believe him.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks now as well, and she took a deep breath to calm herself. "What's wrong with my daughter?" she asked pointedly.

Again Sam looked to his brother for strength, and then met Polly's eyes. "We believe her soul isn't properly developed," he answered.

She held her hand up to her heart, breathing heavily. "I don't understand," she said. "I don't understand how that can be. I don't understand how you could even know that."

"I know you don't," he said. "But I can explain, and I can prove enough of what I'm going to say so that you can accept the rest. But first you have to listen."

She stared into his eyes for a long time. She saw a lot of pain and anguish there. And she saw honesty. As crazy as his words sounded, she was beginning to believe he was being sincere. She believed he cared. What reason would he have to make up such a ridiculous story? She owed it to her daughter to hear all of it, no matter how insane it sounded. She needed to hear it all, and then she could decide. Finally she nodded. "Go ahead," she said. "Tell me your story."

Sam wiped the tears from his face and took a deep breath. He saw Dean do the same from the corner of his eye. "It's kind of a logical progression," he said. "If there are demons, and there is a hell, then there are also angels, and there is a heaven." He gave her a semi-smile. "But they aren't what anyone thinks they are, believe me. The angels you've read about in the bible, they are real. Or mostly they were. A lot of them are dead now. But they weren't how you probably imagined them. A lot of them weren't very nice."

"They were dicks!" Dean added.

Polly just kept staring at him incredulously, but she hung in there. Sam continued. "Back before you knew me, There was a huge conflict between heaven and hell. The main antagonists were Michael, the archangel, and his brother Lucifer, otherwise known as the devil."

Sam took a break to determine how Polly was handling all this. "Are you really telling me that all this somehow has something to do with why my daughter is the way she is?"

"I am. The events that happened directly led up to it. I can't explain why she is the way she is without telling you all of this. I know it sounds crazy. But these things actually happened, and because they did, Samantha was inadvertently damaged. No one could have foreseen this. But to us, knowing the truth, well, it has to be this. Nothing else can explain it."

"Go on," Polly whispered, by now almost eerily calm.

"If you remember your bible stories, you'll know that Lucifer was also an angel. He was cast out of heaven by his brother Michael at God's command." Polly nodded that she knew that. "Now what you can't know from the bible is that angels can possess people too, just like demons can, except angels need permission."

Sam waited for that to sink in, and then continued. "Michael and Lucifer were gearing up to have a big battle to the death for control of the earth. The bible calls this the apocalypse. What very few people know, is that the apocalypse never happened."

Now Polly looked perplexed. "Of course it didn't. That would mean the end of the world, wouldn't it?"

"Yes it would have. And it came close. I told you angels needed the consent of a human in order to possess them. Michael wanted to use Dean and Lucifer wanted to use me. They wanted to have their battle wearing us."

"So what happened?" she asked, intrigued in spite of her skepticism.

"Well, for the purpose of understanding what's going on with Samantha, I'll cut it short. We found a way to thwart them. We found a spell that would send Lucifer back into the cage he had been in for eons before I… before he got out. So I gave him permission to possess me, I said the spell, and I fell into hell, and into the cage, taking Lucifer with me. I also took Michael with me when he tried to stop me. I grabbed his arm and we all went into the cage together."

"Then how are you here?"

Sam sniffled. "That question is the very heart of the matter. A very good friend of ours, who happens to be an angel, went into hell at great risk to himself and pulled me back out. The only problem is, he left a piece of me there. He didn't know it, but he brought me back without my soul."

"It took over a year for us to figure out what was wrong with me. But I acted very much like you describe Samantha. I never slept for one thing. And I did what I wanted without thought or regret. I didn't care about anyone. The only difference between me and Samantha is that I was knowledgeable enough to pretend to care."

"I hurt people, not usually intentionally. But if someone got hurt while I was doing my job, I didn't care. So you see, if Samantha is my daughter, and she was conceived while I didn't have a soul, then that means that somehow my not having a soul has to be the reason."

Polly listened to all this without saying a word. As crazy as it all sounded, when Sam finally got to the end it actually made sense. It explained all of her daughter's behavior. And it explained why Samantha didn't seem to love her as a child usually loved its mother. Oh dear god, that was something that had torn her heart to pieces, something she had only let herself think about in her darkest times. And now, here was someone giving her a reason for that, a logical reason, however insane it sounded.

"So," she finally said, when she had processed it all, "you think Samantha doesn't have a soul?"

Sam licked his lips. "We can't know for sure, to be totally up front with you. But our friend, Cas, the angel who rescued me, he thinks that it's possible she has your half of her soul, but that it's dormant."

"So… I mean… what can we do?"

"First, Cas wants to meet Samantha. And so do I. It was a shock, I have to admit, to discover I have a daughter, a child. But now that I know, well I want to meet her. And my desires aside, I'll probably have to meet her if and when we figure out a way to help her."

Polly nodded. "Okay," she aid. "Whatever we need to do, I'll do it. I'll try anything if it has the slightest chance it can help."

They decided to run over to the diner for lunch while they were waiting for Cas to arrive. Polly had settled down quite a bit but she was still shaken. "It's hard to wrap my head around all this, you know?"

"Oh, believe me, we get it," said Dean. "Even though we've been exposed to this stuff all our lives, there are times that even we get blown away by something new."

Polly gave a half smile. "So I guess I should be proud that my daughter's Daddy and Uncle saved the world, huh," she said.

"Ah, it was nothing," Dean said.

Polly looked at him. "Riiight," she said with a smile.

When they got back to the motel, Sam's phone beeped with a message from Cas that he was five minutes away. Polly looked nervous again and said, "I don't know how to act in front of an angel. Should I like bow or something?"

Both boys had to laugh. Sam said, "No Polly, just treat him like any other person. Cas is, well Cas is Cas."

When the knock came and Sam opened the door, Dean said, "Cas, bring your girlfriend in."

Cas looked at him, frowning. "She's not my…"

"Well whatever she is, it's not polite to keep her waiting in the car all the time. Bring her in," Dean responded.

Cas hesitated for a moment and then turned to go get Hannah.

Sam explained to Polly that Hannah was another angel, a friend of Cas'. When they came in, introductions were made all around. Polly was still wide-eyed at meeting angels and was finding it hard to speak. But Cas soon put her at ease with his down-to-earth demeanor and caring attitude.

"We have an appointment to see her at two pm," Polly said. "It's about a twenty minute drive." While they waited for time to leave, Cas explained to her again his understanding of how souls work. "I'm hoping that I or possibly Hannah, will be able to tell without physically invading her, but I can't promise that."

"Invading her?" Polly exclaimed, once again looking frightened. "No…" she said looking around to all of them. "What do you mean by invading her?"

Cas took her hand and rubbed the back of it with his other hand. She seemed to instantly get calm. "Angels have many abilities," Cas said. "One of them is that we can touch human souls and tell a lot about them." He glanced over to Sam for a second and said, "That's how we found out Sam didn't have his soul in the first place. And that's how we found out yesterday that he also doesn't have the soul bud that is meant to go to your daughter."

"You, what? You touch them inside?"

"Yes," Cas said calmly. "And I won't lie. It's painful for them. But it's the only way I see to proceed. I need to know if she has your part of her soul, to begin with, and what state it's in. If it's the way I think it is, then we have to come up with some way to unite the half she has with the part of Sam's soul she needs."

"This all sounds so fantastic. I honestly don't know how to take all this."

Hanna spoke up for the first time. "I could put her in a state of suspension while you do that," she said. "Then she wouldn't feel anything."

Cas looked at her inquiringly. "I had no idea you could do that," he said.

She grimaced. "Yes, well, it's one of the things I learned during my short time working for Metatron."

"Well then perhaps that time had a purpose," Cas said.

When it came time to leave they piled into the two cars, with Cas following behind. At the hospital, they were prepared for a large group of visitors coming to see Samantha, and they had her in a room with a one-way window. They watched her play for a little while. She had a coloring book and crayons on a low table, and a box of assorted toys. She looked peaceful at first.

Without warning, she tore out the page she was coloring and said, "I don't like you anymore, you're ugly," and she tore the page into little pieces. Then she looked through the toy box and found a small car. She rolled it on the floor for about two minutes and then threw it against the wall.

"They think she has ADD," Polly explained, "because she can't keep focused on anything for more than a few minutes. But when she's done with something she destroys it, or throws it like she just did the car." She took a deep breath. "Now watch how she acts with me."

Polly opened the door to the room and closed it behind her. "Hi Sweetie, it's Mommy. How are you today?"

"Go away," Samantha said.

"I'd like to visit for a little while if that's okay?" Polly asked her, and Samantha shrugged. Polly walked slowly over to the child the way a person might if they were trying not to frighten an animal. Polly was again looking through the toy box. When she didn't find anything in the box that she wanted she kicked it.

"I want Dora," she said. Polly went over to the TV up on the wall and turned it on. The attached VCR had a tape of Dora the Explorer, because that was one thing that Samantha seemed to like. "Here's Dora for you, Sweetie, can mommy have a hug?"

Samantha shrugged, and Polly bent down to hug her. There was no hint of reciprocation from the child. It was as though she were just tolerating the hug. She pushed herself away from her mother and sat down on the floor to watch Dora. "Sweetie," said Polly, "There are some other people here to see you, is that okay?" When Samantha shrugged without taking her eyes off the TV, Polly looked at the mirror and nodded.

The door opened and Cas came in. "Hello Samantha," he said, "my name is Cas. I'd like to visit you for a little while, okay?"

Samantha looked over at Cas, and frowned. "Are you an angel?" she asked pointedly.

"Why yes, I am," he answered. "How did you know that?

"I can see you inside that man. You're all stuffed in there because there isn't enough room."

Cas knew that children could often see angels in their true form, so this wasn't a complete surprise. What was a surprise was the hostility she seemed to be aiming at him.

He squatted own on his heels and asked, "Samantha, are you angry with me for some reason?"

Samantha shrugged and turned away from him. "Is it me, or are you angry with all angels?"

"Mommy says angels are good. The nurses say it too. They say angels will answer prayers, but they don't."

Cas and Polly exchanged glances, while Sam and Dean did the same on the other side of the window.

"Do you pray to angels, Samantha?" Cas asked her.

"Not anymore. They don't listen."

"Well I'm right here, Samantha. Maybe I can answer your prayer. What is it you pray for?" he asked.

What she said next floored everyone who was watching. "I pray for them to send me my Daddy," she said.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Outside the window Sam cried out in surprise. Without a thought he flew to the door, opened it and ran into the room. He stopped about halfway toward Samantha, realizing what he had just done. Samantha turned to see who had entered and she let out a shriek. She jumped up and ran to Sam, wrapping her arms around his legs. "You did it," she cried. "You brought me my daddy!"

Sam swept her up in in his arms, tears streaming down his face. "Oh my god!" he kept saying over and over, holding her close. Samantha had her arms around his neck, clinging to him tightly. "Daddy you came," she said happily. She turned her head to look at Cas. "You did it, you did it, you brought me my daddy. You're the best angel in the whole wide world!"

Polly was also crying, her hand to her mouth in total shock. Samantha had never deliberately given affection to anyone before. And she had no idea how her child knew that Sam was her father. This whole day had been crazy and this was just another unbelievable thing to add to the list.

Cas watched the tableau with great interest. He was sure now that his supposition was correct, that Samantha had her mother's half of her soul, and that the soul itself recognized its other half and was drawn to it, had been yearning for it.

The door opened and Dean and Hannah came in to join the others. Dean's face was tear-streaked as well, as he watched his brother holding Samantha and sobbing shamelessly. "Why are you crying, Daddy," Samantha asked.

Sam couldn't get the words out so Cas came to the rescue. "He's crying because he's happy," he told her. "He's really, really happy that he found you."

Hannah was taking in everything that was happening, understanding, perhaps for the first time, what Cas had been trying to tell her about humans. She found herself really hoping that they would be able to find a way to complete the little girl's soul. It was obvious to her that both halves of the soul were reaching out, trying to merge. There had to be some way to accomplish it. She was experiencing something inside her for the first time. Emotions, she thought. She was feeling emotions. She felt something wet on her cheek and reached up to wipe it away. She was crying, she realized. Crying for the first time ever.

No one knew quite what to do or say. Polly could do nothing but stare at Sam and her daughter. Dean as well was feeling emotions too strong to take in. Emotions so strong they were making him uncomfortable. But no one wanted to interrupt the amazing miracle happening right before their eyes.

Eventually Sam took a series of deep breaths and got himself somewhat under control. "Samantha," he asked her, "how did you know who I was."

"I always knew who you were. I see you in my head."

This made all the adults in the room pass glances to each other. How could this be? So much was going on here that none of them really understood. Everyone knew they needed to get away to discuss all of this, but Samantha was still holding on to Sam and didn't look like she was going to let go anytime soon.

"We need to talk," Cas said quietly.

Sam nodded and said, "Samantha, can I put you down for a little while so I can talk to the angel?"

Samantha looked over to Cas. "You can talk to him while you hold me," she said, which brought amused smiles to everyone.

Cas turned to Polly and asked if there was anyplace they could all go to have a private conversation.

"There's a lounge, down the hall," she said. "Let me go let the staff know we're taking Samantha out of the room." Polly was gone for just a few minutes and then indicated they all should follow. The visitor's room was unoccupied at the moment, and they all took seats, with Sam holding his daughter on his lap. She laid her head on his shoulder and seemed very content.

"I don't understand this," said Polly, looking significantly at her daughter.

"My guess is that the situation is exactly how I thought it was, and one half is calling out to the other half, trying to merge, trying to complete itself."

"I think you're right Cas, because I'm feeling that pull too. Do you suppose, you know, maybe the bud has bloomed?"

"Well it's possible," Cas said. We are in whole new territory right now, so this is a journey of discovery."

"If that's true," Sam asked, "how can we get them to merge?"

"That is the question, isn't it?" said Cas. "Before we can even begin to explore possibilities, I think we need to be able to…" He indicated a pulling apart motion with his hands.

"What if it's the proximity that's causing the behavior change?" Dean asked.

"I think it is," said Cas. "With both halves so close, there's bound to be an effect. Sam," Cas inquired. "Can you describe what it is you're feeling?"

"Very mixed sensations," Sam answered. "There's a deep feeling of peace and contentment on the one hand, and a jittery, impatient feeling on the other. I'm pretty sure I'm feeling that impulse to connect, to complete."

Cas looked at Polly and asked her if it was possible to check Samantha out of the hospital for a few days. "Yes it is," she said, "though I haven't been able to take her for a long time."

Cas smiled over at Sam and Samantha and said, "I think somehow it will be just fine now."

Polly left to make arrangements, and Sam asked Cas what he had in mind. "I don't know anything beyond wanting to check you again. If you have sprouted a bud, then we have to find way to connect it to Samantha."

"Connect a flower bud to me?" Samantha asked excitedly, and everyone smiled.

"Sure, Sweetie, we can connect lots of flowers and buds to you, would you like that?" Sam asked her.

"Mmm hmm," she said nodding her head decisively as children do.

Sam looked significantly at his brother, and Dean said, "I'm on it," and went off in search of the gift shop.

When they got to the car, Samantha still refused to stop holding on to Sam, so he sat with her on his lap and pulled the seat belt around them both. When they got on their way Polly asked, "Do you really think Cas will be able to, you know, fix things?"

"Sweetheart," Dean answered her. "We've seen him pull off some pretty miraculous stuff in the past, so I think it's highly possible. And I can promise you none of us will quit trying."

"Are the angels going where we are?" Samantha asked.

"You know the lady was an angel too?" Sam asked her.

"Mmm hmm," she said. "But she's a lot brighter."

Sam and Dean exchanged glances again. This child was amazing. When they got to the motel, Dean slipped the bag from the gift shop into Sam's hand. It was a lot heavier than a few flowers would be. He grinned at Dean, who just shrugged and scrunch-smiled.

When they went into the room, Sam sat up against the headboard of the bed with his daughter in his lap. "Do you like surprises?" He asked her. When she nodded, smiling, her eyes wide in anticipation, he said "Close your eyes." She did, and when he said "Open them," she was covered with flowers. She giggled in delight and began playing with them.

When Cas and Hannah got here, Samantha showed them her flowers and they admired them for her. Then she looked at Hannah and said, "What's your name?" Hannah told her, and she said "You're really bright."

Hannah looked confused and Dean said quietly, "She sees angel forms." Hannah looked at Cas when she realized the significance of Samantha's statement.

Then Sam pulled out the soft, huggable Teddy Bear he also found in the gift bag and wiggled it at her. "How would you like to have a new Teddy Bear friend?" he asked her. She lit up again, and reached for the Teddy, hugging it close to her.

Watching her daughter, Polly had tears streaming down her cheeks. "I've never seen her like this, never. This is already a miracle."

Everyone found someplace to sit and Cas said, "We need to check you, Sam, but we have two problems."

Sam looked down at his child and said, "I understand the first one, what's the second one?"

"Me," said Cas. "I don't think I'm strong enough to do it again"

Dean looked at Hannah and asked, "Can you do it?"

"We discussed this on the way over here," Hannah said. "I've never done it before, and I'm afraid to try. I can't take the chance on seriously hurting Sam."

"There is one thing we think might work," Cas said.

"Think?" said Dean.

"Yes, think," Cas answered a bit testily. "This is all uncharted territory, Dean, "we can't be sure of anything. All we can do is try."

Dean waved his hand by way of apology and said, "Okay, so what's your idea?"

"As Samantha pointed out, Hanna's energy is much brighter than mine. We think we might be able to piggy-back her energy onto mine while I check Sam. But it's going to be tricky all around."

"I'm game if you two are," said Sam. "But what about the first problem?"

Hannah spoke up. "I could, you know, what I said at the hospital."

After a few seconds of silence, Sam said, "Okay then, if we're gonna do it, let's do it. But first, let me try…" and he nodded his head toward the door.

"Samantha, honey," he said, "Daddy has to go outside for a minute okay?"

She grabbed onto Sam's neck and screamed, "No, daddy, no!" He hated to do it but he untangled her arms from around his neck and quickly made it out the door. Samantha ran to the door calling for him and banged on the door. When he didn't come back she threw herself on the floor and went into a full-blown, kicking and screaming tantrum.

Sam opened the door carefully, because she was right next to it, and she immediately jumped up and raised her arms to be picked up. When he swept her up in his arms she immediately stopped crying, and was all smiles again.

"Well I guess that answers that question," Dean said.

Sam indicated for Hannah to do her thing, when she touched Samantha's forehead she went immediately to sleep. Sam went and laid her down on the bed and put her Teddy Bear in her arm to hold. "So is she sleeping?" he asked Hannah.

"Actually, it's deeper than that. It's more than sleep and less than a coma. She won't wake until I release her."

"Good," said Dean, getting up to let Sam have his chair. "How do we do this?"

Cas said, "Hanna will try to connect her energy to mine the same way I connect with your soul. The possible problem that might arise is that her energy could be too strong for me to control, and that could be dangerous for you, Sam. Touching a soul is very precise work."

"I know. I trust you. Let's do this," Sam said, as he sat down and put a towel in his mouth as he had done before.

Hannah took a deep breath. She seemed hesitant to begin. "Go on Hannah, you can do this," Cas said. She looked into his eyes and slowly merged her hand into Cas. There was a flash of light and Cas became unsteady on his feet. Hannah pulled her hand back out.

Cas was breathing heavily, but he said, "It will work, I could feel your energy. You need to do it and don't back out. That will be worse for me." They tried again, and this time Hanna didn't pull her hand back. Cas closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to get control of the extra energy coursing through him.

It took him several minutes, and those watching him were a bit concerned at first, but gradually he got more steady. He opened his eyes and said to Sam, "I have a good hold on the energy, Sam, I think we can do this." Sam nodded and Cas began the task of checking Sam's soul. Sam was ready for the excruciating pain, but it still made him bite down hard on the towel, muffling his screams. It only took Cas a few seconds this time before he pulled his hand back and told Hannah to do the same.

When Hannah removed her hand both she and Cas were shaking, and Cas almost lost his balance. Dean was ready for this and he reached out to help Cas stay on his feet. After a minute or so, Cas got himself under control, and said, "It's there Sam. The soul bud is there. I could feel it searching, crying out to connect to it's other half."

Sam let out a huge breath of relief, both from the release of the pain and from hearing the news they were all hoping for. He said, "Well that's another step taken. All we have to do now is figure out how to get it from me to Samantha."

To be continued …


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Both of the angels needed to rest after their energy exchange. It was the first time Hannah had done such a thing and she wasn't quite prepared for how weak it would leave her feeling. Cas, of course, was fighting weakness anyway.

After some discussion they decided to move out of the room they were in and book two rooms adjoining. They had a little more space to spread out that way, and Sam needed some time to talk things over with Polly privately. Sam laid his still sleeping child down on the bed in the new room, and placed her Teddy Bear in her arms. He had gathered up her flowers from the old room and scattered them on her. Hannah had woken her up from the suspended sleep and now she was sleeping normally. Apparently her proximity to Sam also allowed for that to happen.

Then Sam and Polly sat down to talk. "I'm going to need to tell you some things about myself," Sam told her. "Besides what we do, you need to know some things about me personally."

"Okay?" Polly said. "At this point I'm ready to believe that the sun rises in the west if you tell me that."

Sam chuckled mirthlessly and faced her. "Our family is cursed," he said. "For some reason we've been on the radar of both gods and demons at one point or another. And it began even before we were born. Our parents were set up to marry just so we could be born. The angels wanted us for vessels. The demons wanted us for something else entirely."

Now that Polly was adjusted to the strangeness of all the talk about demons and angels, she listened to Sam's story with real interest. "I told you our mother was killed by a demon when I was six months old. But I didn't tell you why. There was a demon named Azazel. He had yellow eyes rather than the usual black, and so we took to calling him yellow-eyes.. He came into my nursery when I was exactly six months old and he… let his blood drip into my mouth."

"Why?" Polly asked.

"I wasn't the only one. We discovered a number of others he had done that to. All of us had some sort of special psychic ability. Some could move things with their minds, some could make people do things with the power of suggestion. Me, I saw people die before it happened."

"Oh how awful," Polly exclaimed. "But how did your mother die?"

Sam scoffed. "Because she caught him," he said." Otherwise she would have lived. Some of the psychic kids didn't lose their moms, others like me did."

"He wanted us because he wanted to open the gates of hell and let all the demons out. We stopped him, but not before a boatload of them made it through. That was when Dean managed to kill him."

He looked at Polly sadly. "I'm telling you this because I don't know if any of that will also affect Samantha. She seems to have some psychic abilities, but they may be for totally different reasons, I just don't know. She can see the true forms of angels. She saw me in her head before I even knew she existed. That could be a soul thing. Again we don't know."

Sam sighed heavily. "In any case, you need to be aware of the circumstances, and of the possible danger to you and Samantha." He got up and walked over to the bed where his daughter lay sleeping. "I never thought I'd have children," he said. "With the life we lead, family, attachments, it's dangerous. We both knew this part of life was something we'd have to sacrifice."

He paused for a moment to look at his daughter. "But now here she is, my child, my daughter, and I can't think of a more wonderful thing that could happen to me." He walked back and sat down. "But Polly, I'm terrified now. I can't be with her, protect her. Or you. But I don't want to part from her either. We've learned from past experience that you can't protect those you love. We've lost so many friends and family. Whether you stay away from them or stay with them, somehow something always gets them."

He met Polly's eyes and held them for a long time. "I know I must be frightening you," he said. "I'm not trying to. I just think you need to know what you've gotten yourself into. I wouldn't blame you if you hated me."

"Hate you for what?" she asked. "You didn't choose for this to happen. You didn't choose much of anything in your life, it seems. But that weekend we had, it was the best weekend of my life. Not a day goes by that I don't pull out those memories and cherish them. I always had this fanciful idea that it happened for a reason, that it had a purpose. Now you tell me your story, I wonder if that wasn't closer to truth than fancy."

"And that terrifies me, Polly." he said. "I don't want her to have a purpose decided by some asshole supernatural being. I want her to live a normal life. And… well if she has a purpose, then I'm sorry but I can't help thinking it means trouble."

Just then there was a knock on the door and Dean said, "Come in here. We may have something to try."

Sam and Polly went into the other room, leaving the connecting door open so they could keep an eye on Samantha.

"What's up?" Sam asked.

Cas said, "Hannah came up with an idea. Again, we don't know for sure if it will work. But it's at least logical."

"Since angels are basically nothing but essence or energy," Hannah said, "and since the soul is also an essence, I thought perhaps an angel could be used as a kind of conduit. So if Cas held your soul in one hand and Samantha's soul in the other, perhaps your soul bud could find it's way through to her."

Sam looked around the room at everyone. "That actually does make sense. But wouldn't that take a lot more out of you two than it did when it was just me?"

"Yes it would," said Cas. "And the difficulty of precisely handling two souls at once is magnified by quite a lot as well. But we are willing to try this."

"When?" asked Sam.

"We think we should wait until Hanna has her full strength back, which should be maybe tomorrow."

Sam nodded. "Okay then, we have a plan. While we're waiting, I'm going to spend the time with my…" he looked at Polly and smiled. "...Family," he said.

-

The Cincinnati Zoo was world famous and Sam had never been there. He decided to take Samantha and Polly to their children's zoo. Sam never got tired of carrying her around, and he bought her anything she asked for.

"Sam," Polly said laughing. "You're going to spoil her."

"And your point?" Sam laughed back.

They had a great day. Samantha still clung to Sam but she was also being loving to her mother, who Sam often noticed had teary eyes. After the zoo they went to an ice cream parlor, one of those that have all sorts of fun things going on. Sam managed not to cringe at their waiter who was made up like a clown, and Samantha giggled delightedly as they ate their ice cream because her daddy kept doing funny things like putting ice cream on his nose and pretending it wasn't there.

When they got back to the motel, Samantha had 6 balloons tied to her wrist and it took two trips to bring in all the toys and stuffed animals he had bought her.

Back at the motel the angels had decided they were strong enough to make the attempt, so they made preparations to do that. Samantha was already fairly tired from her busy day, and fell asleep on her own, but Hannah went ahead and put her into the deeper sleep. Then Sam held her in his lap so they would be close enough together for Cas to work on them.

Once again Hannah merged her hand with Cas and they got the energy controlled between them. Sam was ready for the pain, hopefully for the last time, and Cas slowly slipped his hand through Sam and steadily placed it against Sam's soul. He had to leave it there much longer this time, as he got ready to do the same thing with Samantha.

Hannah gasped, as this time she was also able to feel Sam's soul. She thought it was the most awesome thing she had ever experienced, using the word awesome in it's non-vernacular meaning of 'full of awe.' Very slowly Cas began to slip his other hand into Samantha. Sam was emitting the muffled cries of pain, and his forehead began sweating, but Cas couldn't let his concern for Sam interrupt his concentration.

Finally he was able to connect with the tiny, dormant soul, and the moment he did he felt the soul energy moving through him. He and Hannah both began to glow bright white, and Dean and Polly had to shield their eyes. It was a battle for Cas to keep his hands steady during this process, which took longer than he had expected. When he felt the last of the soul essence pass through him he removed his hands and collapsed on the floor, pulling himself off Hannah's hand. Sam had passed out even before the process was finished.

Hannah was breathing heavily and reaching out her arm to find something to use to steady herself. Dean jumped up and helped her to a chair, where she too passed out. Then he helped Cas up and onto a bed. At this point Dean and Polly were the only two of them who weren't out of it.

"What do we do now?" Polly asked Dean.

"We wait," he said. "When you go around messing with stuff like this you never know what's going to happen. It's enough right now that they're all breathing."

To fill the uncomfortable silence and to try to keep worry at bay, Polly said," Sam told me about your lives."

"Figured he would."

"He's afraid the things that happened to him could be passed down to Samantha in some way."

Dean did one of his sideways nods. "It's possible" he said. "But I promise you we will be there for you both, whatever happens."

"Thank you for that. I know you will. Do you think this worked?" she asked.

"Looked like it did. Something sure did," he answered.

Hannah was the first to wake up. "Pain," she said. "Never felt pain before."

"Fun, isn't it?" Dean said.

"Not really," she said. Then she looked at Dean. "Oh that was a joke right?"

Dean smiled. "Yeah, sorry, it was a joke."

"Is everyone all  
>right?" she asked.<p>

"They're all breathing," Dean answered. "Can't tell much else yet."

"It worked though," Hannah said. "I could feel it myself. I've never experienced anything so awesome."

Sam began moaning, and Dean called his name. "Sam?.. Hey, buddy you all right?"

Sam lifted his head and sat up a little straighter. "Feel like I've just lost a fight with a Mac truck," he said. He opened his eyes and looked around him. "Cas all right?" he asked, with so little energy behind it he barely whispered.

He's breathing," Dean said.

"Good," he said. "Can you take Saman…" he said before he lost consciousness again. Dean stood up and took the sleeping child from his hands and placed her on the bed.

"How do you do this stuff all the time?" Polly asked Dean. "I think I'd go crazy."

"You just do it." he answered. "You don't think about it too much. And, yeah, you do a little bit crazy."

They spoke in low tones for about an hour, specifically to keep from thinking too much. Again Sam woke, groggy and sporting a monster headache. "Did it work?" he asked.

"We think so," said Dean. "Knocked everyone right out though."

Sam got a grip on himself. He'd been through worse but it was hard to remember when. He smiled at Polly and took her hand. "Hannah, do you think it's safe to wake Samantha now? And are you up to it?"

"I do, and I am," she said. "She shouldn't have any after effects from it at all." She got up and touched Samantha's forehead. The little girl yawned and sat up on the bed. She immediately ran to Sam with a big grin, "Hi Daddy," she said. Then she looked at Polly and said, "Hi Mommy." Polly thought they were the best words she'd ever heard in her life, and had to stifle a sob. Samantha hugged both her parents and then got down on her own and looked for her new toys. Her balloons were on the ceiling, the strings hanging down.

Finally Cas woke too, and everyone wanted to know all at once how he was. He said he was weak but okay and watched Samantha playing on the floor. "It worked," he said. "It's a miracle," but it worked.

All of them but Polly and Dean were too tired to go anywhere but they were all hungry, so Dean went out and grabbed some takeout Chinese. After dinner, Sam and Polly took Samantha to their own room to discuss future plans.

As the two adults spoke quietly, Samantha played happily with her toys. "It really is a miracle," Polly said. "We're so lucky I ran into you."

Sam smiled brightly, watching his child play wit her toys like any other child would.

"Daddy," she said, from her place on the floor.

"Yes sweetie?"

"Will you keep the bad people away?" she asked.

"What bad people?" he asked her.

"All the bad people," she said. "The ones with the black eyes."

**To Be Continued….**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Kids Say the Darndest Things**

Sam and Polly exchanged worried glances and Sam got up and opened the connecting door. He motioned the others to come in and be quiet. Then he went over and sat on the bed near where Samantha was playing.

"Sammi, honey," he said, glancing up at his brother in the doorway. "What do you know about the bad people with black eyes?" Dean returned his glance with narrowed eyes and a touch of fear.

Samantha was playing with a set of zoo animals Sam had gotten her at the zoo. "They want to get me," she said.

Sam wiped his mouth, wondering how the hell to question a three-year-old about demons. "Well Daddy won't let them get you, sweetie, I promise," he said. "But how do you know about the bad people?" he asked, trying to keep his voice light so as not to frighten her.

"I see them," she said, matter-of-factly. "In my head."

Sam was having a very hard time not showing the total terror he was feeling. Dean, however, was showing his, since Samantha had her back to him. He kept looking from Sam to Samantha thinking he couldn't possibly be hearing what he was hearing. Hannah and Cas were looking much the same. Polly took a pen and notebook out of her purse and began keeping notes. She thought doing something constructive might help keep the fear at bay.

"Sweetie," Sam said gently, "How long have you been seeing them?"

"A long time ago," she said. "Like when I saw you."

"Like me?" he asked. "You mean you've seen them as long as you've see me?"

"Uh huh," she said, as she put a lion in it's cage.

"Do you see anyone else?" he asked her.

"Uh huh," she said, trying to put a giraffe in with the lion.

Sam took a deep breath and placed his hands on his forehead, putting them together as if in prayer. "Who else do you see?" he asked her gently.

"Kids," she said. "The other kids the bad people want."

Sam jumped up and spun around, trying desperately not to do or say anything that would frighten her. But he was having a really tough time. He sat back down again. Samantha was putting monkeys in the cage with the ice where penguins should go.

"Sweetie," he said, "how many other kids do you see?"

"One, two, free, four," she said, as she picked up monkeys and put them into a bunch.

"Four," he asked, "like this many?" He pointed to the four monkeys.

"Uh huh," she nodded.

"And how many bad people do you see?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"More than this many?" he asked, pointing to the pile of monkeys again.

"Sometimes," she said. "Sometimes Unca Dean is there too, but he's not black anymore."

Oh this was too much. All the adults were passing around glances to each other with every new thing she said. Sam mouthed the word 'Crowley picture' to his brother and indicated his phone. Dean took out his phone and leafed through pictures until he found one of Crowley and gave it to Sam, who showed it to Samantha. "Is this one of the bad people," he asked. She looked at it and said "Uh huh, he's the one with the dirty face."

"Okay Sweetie, thank you. You play for a while. Daddy has to go in the other room and talk, okay?"

"Okay," she said cheerfully.

They all went through the door and Polly closed it most of the way, standing by it to keep an eye on her daughter, as they had a whispered conversation.

"What's going on now?" Polly asked.

Sam was barely containing himself, pacing the room like a caged animal. "Sam," Dean said commandingly. "Settle down so we can figure this out."

"Settle down? How am I supposed to settle down Dean. It's bad enough she sees angels, and that she saw me before she ever met me. But Crowley? Demons? And who are these kids she's talking about? How much else is there we don't even know yet?"

"All good questions, Sam," said Cas, speaking for the first time through this whole thing. "But we have to keep our heads, and figure this out. You're going to have to ask her more questions."

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to ask questions like these to a three year old?"

"Not really, no. But you seem to be doing quite well," Cas answered.

"Well I have a question of my own," Dean said. "How is it she knows the demons are 'bad people,' yet she isn't showing any fear?"

"That's a VERY good question," Sam said. "I was wondering that myself."

Polly said, "At her age she might know someone or something is bad, but she really doesn't grasp it enough to put an emotion to it, like fear."

"Okay, yeah, that makes sense," Sam said.

"Also, when you want information from kids you have to be very specific, and get small amounts of information at a time. Sometimes using props or drawings can help."

Sam sighed, a long deep sigh that caught his breath. "Okay fine," he said. "Let's discuss what information we want to get before we go back in there."

They spent some time determining what to ask and how to ask it, and then they went back to talk to Samantha some more. She had grown bored of the zoo animals in the meantime and was coloring in her book. That actually worked to their advantage, since they had decided using her crayons might help Sam talk to her.

"Sweetie," he said to her after sitting down on the bed again. "Can we talk some more, so you can help Daddy keep the bad people away."

"Uh huh," she said, as she colored the leaves on a tree pink.

He picked up her box of crayons. "I want you to tell me about the other kids," he said. "Can you hear them talk too?"

She shook her head no. "Only see them," she said.

"Are they all the same age as you?" Again she shook her head.

"Okay, can you pick one out and tell me about that one first? Is this a girl or a boy?"

"Girl."

"Is she bigger or smaller than you, or the same?"

"Bigger."

"Okay," Sam said. "That's really good to know." He paused for a minute. "You know your colors, right?" he asked her.

"Uh huh," she nodded. "I'm a big girl."

"Yes you are," Sam said. "Daddy's really proud of you. Can you pick out the color that's the same as her hair?"

Samantha picked out the brown crayon. "Brown," she said.

"Oh that's really good," Sam said. "When you see her, can you see things she's doing, or people she's with?"

"Sometimes," she said. "Sometimes a mean lady comes in and makes her mad and she cries. Then she's orange," she said, picking out the orange crayon.

This statement puzzled everyone, and Sam held the orange crayon and said," What do you mean she's orange?"

"Mostly she's yellow, like this one," she said, getting out the yellow crayon. "But the mean lady makes her orange."

The puzzled glances did the rounds again. "Do you mean she wears an orange dress?" he asked her.

"No," she said, matter-of-factly. "She's just orange."

Sam decided to let that slide for now, and said, "Okay, Honey, can you tell me about one of the other kids now?"

"Uh huh, it's a boy," she said.

"Is he bigger too?" Sam asked.

"Uh huh," she said.

"Is he bigger or smaller than… the orange girl?" he said looking at the crayon, still puzzled.

"Smaller," she said.

"That's great, Sweetie, you're helping Daddy a lot," he said. "So the little boy is bigger than you but smaller than the other girl, is that right?"

"Uh huh," she said. "And he's mostly green."

Again the adults passed glances. That one made less sense than the orange one for some reason. Then Sam had an inspiration. "Sammi," he asked, "is everyone a color?"

"Uh huh," she said.

"What color am I?" he asked. Samantha looked at him and said, "You're brown right now."

"Right now? You mean I'm not always brown?"

"Huh uh," she said. "This morning you were blue."

"It's emotions," said Cas excitedly. "She's seeing emotions."

Sam looked at his daughter again with interest. "What color is Uncle Dean?" he asked her.

"He's always red," she said. "Except when he was with the bad people. Then he was black."

"Did you see Uncle Dean before too, like you saw me?" Sam asked her.

"Uh huh, I saw him with you a lot. I didn't know his name then."

Sam looked around at the others. "So what we need to do now is figure out what the colors mean," he said, thinking what an exceptional child this is.

"What color is Mommy?" he asked her.

"Mommy's yellow now, yellow like the sun. She used to be blue," she said.

"Blue like I was this morning?" he asked her.

"No, different blue." she looked in her crayon box and picked out two shades of blue, one like a sky blue and one like a navy blue. She handed the navy blue one to Sam and said, "Mommy used to be like this blue, and you were kinda like this one," she said, indicating the sky blue one.

"Wow," Dean mouthed to his brother.

"And what about Cas and Hannah?" Sam asked her. "What colors are they?"

"Silly Daddy," she said laughing. "They're angels. Angels are always white."

"And the bad people are always black?"

"Uh huh."

Sam sat and thought for a few minutes, trying to make some sense out of what he was hearing. Then he said, "Sweetie, you said the bad people want to get the other kids you see?"

"Uh huh."

"How do you know that?"

"I don't know."

Sam was getting more upset by the minute. He was rubbing his palms along his thighs and tapping his heel. Finally, he jumped up and said to no one in particular, "I have to get out for a minute, I'll be back in a few."

He went into the other room and out the door. He looked around for somewhere to go but there was nothing private anywhere in sight. He decided to just get into the impala. He tried calming down with deep breathing, but it wasn't working. He beat his fists on the dashboard and put his head against his fists. "Goddamn fucking demons!"

Finally he put his head back and screamed out loud, "I fucking hate demons!"

When he got control of himself again, he went back inside. Everyone was where he'd left them, and he went back to sit on the bed. He pulled Samantha up onto his lap, and she smiled up and leaned back against him.

With great difficulty he managed to keep his voice low and gentle. "Okay sweetie," he said. "Tell Daddy about the next kid you see, so Daddy can help."

"There's another little girl like me and a baby boy. They live in the same house."

"What color are they?" he asked her.

"The baby is still white," she said. "The little girl changes colors a lot."

Sam was still trying to process all this when Cas asked her what color she is. She shrugged and said, "I don't know. I can't see my colors."

Sam hugged his daughter really close for a while and kissed her hair. She began falling asleep so he laid her on the bed and they all went to the other room again.

Sam was pacing again, rubbing his hand through his hair. "I frigging hate demons," he said. "And there is no way.. NO WAY!... They are going to get my daughter… or any of the other kids either. No way!"

"We're going to need to find those other kids too, somehow," Dean said.

"And do what?" Sam asked. "I'm not saying I don't agree with you, I'm asking how we protect them?"

"We need to know why Crowley wants them in the first place," Dean said.

"If they can see angels, or have anywhere near the abilities Samantha seems to have, you don't really have to ask that question." Then Sam glared at his brother. "All that time you were with him, you never heard anything about this?"

"Nothing," Dean said. "He didn't exactly confide in me, and I didn't exactly care about his business."

"I don't understand why she has all those powers," said Cas. "Even being your child, any psychic abilities she got should be less than yours, watered down. Not exponentially greater like hers seem to be."

"That's another good question, isn't it," said Sam.

"I think we need to talk to Crowley," Dean said.

"What?" Sam exclaimed. "Are you out of your mind? That would tip him off about Samantha."

"We need something to hide her from demons," Dean said. "Some charm or spell or Enochian etching on her ribs would be even better."

"Cas, can you do that?" Sam asked his friend.

"Not in my present condition," he said, which made everyone look at Hannah.

"I wouldn't know how to even begin to do something like that," she said, looking sorry and frightened at the same time.

"I can teach her," Cas said, "but it will take some time. Meanwhile, I suggest we head for the bunker, it's the safest place I know of."

"Agreed," Dean said. "Let's get packed up and on the road."

Sam took Polly aside and took her hands in his. "You doing okay? You seem to be handling this better than I am."

"Truthfully I'm terrified." she answered. "But you and your brother are the experts here, and I'm trusting you. You found out what her problem was and you fixed it. I'm trusting you to fix this too."

Sam looked into her eyes and said seriously, "Polly, I promise you, as long as I'm alive no harm will come to our daughter. I swear to you."

Polly reached up and placed her hand gently on Sam's cheek. "I know you will," she said. "I have faith in you."

Sam pulled her to him and gave her a warm hug. He kissed her hair and asked, "Is there anyone you need to call to let them know you'll be away for a while?"

"Yeah, my boss and my neighbor. She looks out for me and she's liable to call the cops if I don't come home soon," she said, going for her purse to get her cell phone.

When they were settled in the car and Samantha had fallen back to sleep in her car seat, Dean looked over at his brother and said, "Ya know Sammy, I gotta tell ya, you're pretty good at that Daddy stuff… I mean, who knew?"

Sam chuckled sadly and said, "Yeah, well this pretty good Daddy is pretty damn terrified right now. I mean Dean, I barely had time to wrap my head around the idea of me having a child before I had to find out how to fix her soul, and just when I think I can take a breath, this happens." He took a deep sigh. "Demons! Fucking demons, after my little girl." His voice hitched a little and he had to stop talking.

"Sammy," Dean said with conviction. "No one is harming a hair on her pretty little head. I mean, geez, I never thought I'd want kids but… when she calls me 'Unca Dean' I could just… Anyone wants her they're gonna have to go through me, and I know you aren't going to let anything happen to her either. We just need to keep her safe while we figure this all out."

When they got to the bunker and walked in from the garage Polly's eyes grew wide. "This is where you live?" She asked in wonder.

"This is it," Dean answered. "Home sweet home."

Sam looked in the fridge. "Ugh," he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "We need to go shopping."

"Let me do that for you," Hannah said. "I'm feeling pretty useless right now. Make a list and I'll go to the store."

"That would be much appreciated," said Sam, as he pulled open a drawer and took out pen and paper. He made a quick list and handed it to Hannah along with some money, and told her where the store was. Meanwhile, Dean led Polly and Samantha to a guest room to get them settled in.

"We should ask Polly what to get for Samantha, and if there's anything special she needs as well."

"I'll go do that," she said, and left him alone in the kitchen. Sam put his arm against the fridge and leaned his head on it.

After everyone was settled in and Hannah had returned with the groceries, they made some sandwiches and took them into the study to eat while they brainstormed.

"I still think we need to have a talk with Crowley," Dean said. "I don't see any other lead to follow."

"I think we need to question the child a bit more to see If we can get any kind of helpful information regarding finding the other children," Cas said.

"And regarding the other kids," said Sam, "I'm wondering several things. Are they the only ones for starters. And do they have abilities like Samantha? Are they somehow children of more of Yellow-eyes psychic kids?"

Polly looked questioning of that and Sam quickly explained that situation. "We thought all the psychic kids of my generation were dead except for me, but maybe somehow that's not the case."

"We really need some answers. Sammy, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna go talk to Crowley. Why don't you see if you can get anything useful from Samantha about the other kids."

"What are you gonna tell Crowley, Dean?"

"I'll make up something. I'm not telling him about Samantha, don't worry."

Cas said, "I'll take Hannah into another room and start teaching her how to do the internal warding."

Soon Sam and Polly were all that were left, along with Samantha who was playing on the floor. "She's been so good since...you know."

"She's beautiful," Sam said. "She's smart too. And the way she handles these abilities of hers. It's incredible." He walked over to where his daughter was playing on the floor, and he sat down beside her and asked, "Hi Sweetie, can we talk about the little orange girl for a minute?"

"Uh huh," she answered, once again playing with her zoo animals. She had them all lined up in a row like a parade.

"Do you know her name?" he asked. She shook her head no.

"You said a mean lady comes and hurts her. Can you tell me what she does that hurts her?"

"She hits her and it looks like she's mad and screaming at her."

"Do you think it's her mommy?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know, maybe her mommy."

"How does she hit her? With her hand or with something else?"

"Sometimes her hand, but sometimes with a big spoon."

"What color is the mean lady?"

"Lots of times she's red."

He looked over at Polly and said, "Red could be anger maybe?"

"Makes sense to me," she said. "But we can't find them based on their colors."

"I know," Sam said. "I just don't know what to ask that would get us any information.

"Do you ever see anyone else there besides the mommy?" he asked Samantha.

"Sometimes another lady comes. She's a nice lady. When she comes the mommy pretends to be nice."

"What color is she?" Sam asked, as he exchanged a glance with Polly.

"Green," Samantha said.

"Okay, honey, now this is really important," Sam said. "Can you tell me what this lady looks like?"

"Um, she smiles a lot."

"Well that's a good thing," he said, smiling at the fact that what his daughter sees first in a person is their smile. "What color is her hair?"

She frowned a minute and took out her crayon box. She seemed to be looking at shades of red. She found one that was called reddish-brown and handed it to him. "Auburn hair," he said. "Good start."

Polly interrupted then and said, "Sammi, sweetie, does the lady carry anything with her?"

"Uh huh, she has a suitcase."

Sam looked at Polly a bit puzzled. "A briefcase, most likely," she said. "If this woman is a case worker of some kind, and that's my guess, they often carry briefcases, and a lot of the time they have some sort of markings on them."

Sam considered that for a moment, and then asked Samantha, "Are there pictures or letters on the suitcase?"

"Uh huh," she said, and she picked up her crayon and wrote wiggly letters that looked a lot like FCM.

"Is that an F and C and M?" he asked her just to be sure.

"Uh huh," she said.

"You know your letters?" he asked her, astounded, which made her sing the alphabet song to him.

He looked over at Polly, amazement clearly visible on his face. "I don't know anything about kids," he said. "But is that normal?"

"It's not the average, but yes, a lot of kids her age know their letters."

"Okay, Sweetie, that is a really big help. Is there anything else on her suitcase."

She thought for a moment, almost looking like she was accessing a memory. "There's a picture of a yellow sun with blue around it."

Sam considered that for a moment and then he got up and went to his computer. In a few minutes he said, "Got it," and took his computer over to show to Samantha. "Sweetie, is this the picture on the suitcase?"

She looked at it and nodded her head, "Uh huh."

"That's the Ohio State Seal," he said excitedly. "Now all we need to know is what the FCM stands for." He sat down at the table and Polly heard the computer keys clicking away. In less than ten minutes he exclaimed, "It stands for Foster Care Management," he said. "That makes sense given Sammi's description." He was feeling very excited now.

"Sammi," he said. "Can you see the other kids whenever you want to?"

"No, they just come in my head like movies."

"Okay," Sam said to Polly. "We need to figure out a way to find these other kids. And at least one of them is in the Ohio State foster care system, apparently not in a particularly nice home. But it might be a place to start. It's a good clue."

He went over and swept Samantha up into the air and swung her around. "You are really helping Daddy," he said. "You are so smart." He pulled her close to him and hugged her, tears welling in his eyes. He kissed her hair and said, "I love you so much sweetheart. I just love you so much."

"I love you too, Daddy," she said. And as he held her in his arms, tears flowing down his cheeks, he thought he finally understood the meaning of love.

**To be continued...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 - Rescue**

"Hello Dean," Crowley said without turning around. He was playing a game of solitaire at the table. "Miss me already?"

Dean stood in the doorway seething inside, trying to calm himself down.

"If you've come to kill me, you can't," he said casually. "I have the little precious now and there's no other way for you to do it."

"I didn't come to kill you today. But don't worry, that day will come. I have even more reason now than I did before you turned me into a monster like yourself."

"You did that to yourself Dean," Crowley countered. "I recall Cain trying to tell you there would be a price to pay. You didn't care. Jumping into the fire like you are wont to do."

Dean took a deep breath and walked into the room to face Crowley, whom he detested even more now than ever. "One thing I did when I was… in your company… was make a few friends. So I heard through the grapevine that you are searching for a bunch of kids. I wanna know why."

Crowley looked up at Dean quizzically, holding a card in his hand. "You had no interest in my business when I wanted you to, why should I tell you anything now?"

"Because you're a scumbag and you owe me," Dean replied snarkily.

"I don't owe you a bloody thing," Crowley responded, anger tinging his voice. "We've broken up, remember? I don't give a shit about what my exes want."

Dean leaned his hands on the table and looked right at Crowley. "Let me tell you something you piece of shit scumbag son-of-bitch. You may think I wasn't paying attention to your business, because I really didn't care about it then. But I care about it now, and I have enough knowledge of your 'operations' to throw a lot of monkey wrenches into the works. So would you rather be left alone or would you rather just tell me what you want with the kids."

Crowley gave Dean a vicious look. "You know I don't need the bloody first blade to kill you, don't you?"

"You wanna kill me, go ahead!"

They stared at each other for a long time and then Crowley sighed and sat back in his chair. "I'm not planning on hurting the kids, okay? I just plan to… borrow them… for a bit."

"Why?" Dean asked, his face dark and menacing.

Crowley evidently didn't want to say any more, but as much as he wanted to deny it, he still had feelings for Dean, feelings approaching human. He hated it but there it was. Sometimes he wanted to squish the little shit like a turd. But he couldn't stop thinking about their time together. It had been centuries since he had had so much fun; since he had felt something. Anything!

He sighed again and lowered the animosity in his voice. "Look Dean. I'm the king of hell. I do things. But I don't hurt humans purposelessly, you have to know that. I do have some honor." He shrugged. "At least a little. But I found about these kids with psychic abilities. I mean off the rails abilities. I've heard that some can see angels and some can see demons. How can I not investigate that? It's sheer self-preservation."

Dean backed down his anger a few notches. Crowley actually made sense, at least from Crowley's point of view. Nevertheless, he couldn't let it happen.

"I can't let you get them Crowley, I can't. They're kids. Not sure I could have even done that as a demon. Not kids."

They glared at each other for a long moment, and Dean stalked out the door, leaving it open behind him.

* * *

><p>Back at the bunker Sam and Polly were on the internet finding out what they could about the structure of the Ohio social service system, and its procedures. Samantha was playing while they were working quietly, when all of a sudden Samantha said "Hello."<p>

Sam and Polly turned to look at Sammi, who seemed to be looking at nothing as she smiled and nodded. "Samantha, but you can call me Sammi. What's yours?" She said to no one. She listened for a moment and then said, "Want to play with me?"

Sam and Polly exchanged puzzled glances and then Sam asked his daughter, "Sammi, honey, who are you talking to?"

"Andwia," Sammi answered. "But she doesn't want to play with me. She wants you to help her."

Again the adults exchanged glances. "So you're talking to a girl whose name is Andria and she wants me to help her?"

"Uh huh," Sammi answered.

"Can you help Daddy understand, because I can't see her?"

"It's the little girl I see all the time, the one I told you about."

"The one you said was yellow, unless the mean lady came, and then she was orange?"

"Uh huh."

"So you can see her now? And you can hear her too?"

"Yeah cause she's right here."

Sam was having a bit of a hard time figuring out what was actually going on but he decided to go with it. "Can you ask her what her last name is?"

Sammi listened for a minute and then said, "She said she can hear you. Her last name is Cawey."

"Do you mean Carey?" Sam asked.

"Uh huh."

"Andria Carey. Okay." He repeated as he was thinking things through. "Andria, do you know what your parents' names are?"

Since Sam hadn't spoken to Samantha, she didn't answer. "Sammi, honey, what did she say, Remember, Daddy can't hear her.

Samantha listened to the air again for a moment and then said, "Her Daddy's name was Scott. He died before she was born. Her mommy's name is Linda. She lives in a hospital."

"Scott Carey," Sam repeated absently. "Scott Carey. Where do I know that name from?"

"Andria, do you know where you live?"

"She says in a town called Dayton."

"Do you know your address?"

"No," Sammi said.

"Do you know the name of the lady you live with?"

"Mrs. Connors," Sammi said.

"First name?" Sam asked.

"Mary."

"Okay, this is good. Now, Andria, what kind of help do you need from us?"

There was a long pause. Then Sammi said, "She wants you to wescue her from the mean lady." She stopped and thought a minute. "Daddy, what does wescue mean?"

"It means help, Sweetie."

Sam turned to Polly and said, "This may give us enough to work with."

Then he turned back to his daughter and her invisible visitor. "Andria, can you come here like this whenever you want?"

"She said she doesn't know but she has to go now."

"We will try to find you and help you, I promise," Sam said, hoping his words reached her before she vanished.

* * *

><p>When Dean arrived back home they caught each other up on their separate experiences. "So Crowley doesn't know about Sammi?" Sam asked.<p>

Dean shrugged. "If he does, he didn't let on. Doesn't mean he doesn't. We need to keep her here to be safe."

"Agreed," Sam said. "Dean," he continued. "Where do I know the name Scott Carey from?"

Dean looked at his brother in surprise. "Dude, Scott Carey was the guy that Gordon Walker killed right before he tried to kill you, remember?"

Recognition filled Sam's face. "You're right," he said, and he filled Dean in on the visitation they had had from Andrea. "So then…" Sam was thinking furiously. "Do you think this means all these kids are children of the other Psychic kids like me, the ones yellow-eyes…" He swallowed, unable to finish the thought out loud.

Dean was spooked at this idea, but didn't want to let on to Sam just how much, so he said, "That's possible, but let's not jump to conclusions. We need to find the other kids and then maybe we'll have some answers."

Sam was still looking pensive. "Dean," he said again. "Some of these kids are younger than Sammi. Maybe that means that some of the others like me survived?"

"I don't know, Sammy, maybe. Let's just take it one step at a time okay?" But inside Dean was worried too. The thought of this whole psychic kids thing opening up again turned his stomach.

"Well at least we have a good lead on finding one of the other kids," Sam said. "And I think time is of the essence."

"I think you're right. Let's gear up and get going." Dean said, heading off to get his gear.

Sam turned to Polly. "You should be all right here. This place is warded against everything. It's the safest place on the planet. Just don't go out. There's plenty of food. Make yourself at home." He smiled at her and she smiled back. He was beginning to understand what he saw in Polly, soul or not. The way she'd been handling all this was amazing. Most women would be falling apart, but she had a strength of character that impressed him. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "We'll be back as soon as possible, I promise," he told her, and went off to get his own gear.

Before they left he picked Sammi up and swung her around. "Daddy loves you, Sweetheart," he said. "You take care of Mommy while I'm gone okay?"

"Okay, Daddy, I love you too. Are you going to wescue Andwia?" she asked.

"We're gonna try, honey." He put her back down, smiled once more at Polly, and they left.

* * *

><p>When the woman opened the door, Dean immediately disliked her. He held up the state of Ohio Social Services ID they'd just had made and said, "Mrs. Connors? Mrs. Mary Connors?"<p>

"Yes," she said questioningly.

"We're here to pick up one of your charges, Andria Carey," Dean said with authority.

Mrs. Connors opened the door wider to let them enter. "Well it's about time!" she complained. "I've been asking for you people to remove that child for months now."

"And why was that again?" Sam asked.

The woman looked at Sam as though he were daft. "Haven't you been reading my reports?" she practically spat him. "She's the devil's spawn, that one."

"Yes," Sam said smoothly. "We have read your reports. But we are required to have a personal interview with you before we take the child. So can you please elaborate on what you mean? Why are you saying she's the devil's spawn?"

Mrs. Connors sat down on a wooden rocking chair covered with a tatty quilt and motioned them to take seats on the threadworn sofa. "She's spooky," said Mrs. Connors conspiratorially. "I can know for a fact she's upstairs in her room, and yet, there she'll be, all of a sudden, standing right beside me. I'm telling you it's downright evil."

"And exactly how do you know for a fact she's up in her room?" Dean asked, not particularly kindly.

"Because I lock her in there, that's how," she answered with a self-rightous tone.

Sam and Dean exchanged knowing glances. "Is there anything else, Mrs. Connors?"

"Isn't that enough?" She exclaimed. "But yes, there's more. She knows stuff, that child, stuff she shouldn't know."

"Like what?" Sam asked.

"Well, like the other day I met a friend of mine at the supermarket and stopped to chat. She told me her mother was ill and wasn't expected to last much longer. So I come home and I'm making dinner, and I call Andria down to set the table. All out of the blue she says to me, 'It's a shame about Mrs. Dawson's mother isn't it?'" She paused for effect. "Now I ask you, how could she possibly know about that? I'll be very happy to see the back of that child, I can tell you! It's just creepy!"

"Please go get her stuff packed up, Mrs. Connors." Sam said, thinking he couldn't stand this woman one more minute. When she was upstairs, Sam said, "I can see why the kid needs rescuing."

"Yeah," Dean said. He couldn't wait to get out of this house either. He could understand normal people being freaked out by the supernatural. But this woman took it to insane limits.

After about twenty minutes, Mrs. Connors showed up with Audrey. Her face lit up when she saw them. Sam!" she cried. Dean! I knew you'd come!" She ran over and hugged Sam tightly, and he picked her up.

Mrs. Connors was showing fear and disapproval on her face. "See!" She practically spat at them. "See what I mean?"

Sam glared at Mrs. Connors, and then turned to Audrey. "Don't worry sweetheart. This will be all right now. We're taking you out of here." Audrey put her arms around Sam's neck and held on tightly.

Dean picked up the small suitcase and meager bag of belongings. "Come on Sammy, let's get out of here."

**To be continued.**..

* * *

><p>Dear readers,<p>

I am sorry for the delay in getting a new chapter out to you. Several weeks ago I hurt my back, and have been in too much pain to write. I'm feeling better now, so here is a new chapter for you. It's a bit short, but it ends a section. Never fear though, the story isn't finished, and I hope to get my chapters out more quickly now.

If I don't write again before the holidays, then I wish you blessings, whatever your faith. Be happy! Be safe!

Kat


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